


What's broken can be mended

by ShadowsintheClouds



Series: Short Marvel Fics and gifts [44]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Broken Bones, Crushes, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Insecure Tony Stark, Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Swearing, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, lots of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:20:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28003806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowsintheClouds/pseuds/ShadowsintheClouds
Summary: Tony was an enigma. Steve didn't understand him. The man was both stubborn and yet so selfless. It was hard for Steve not to fall for him. But, Steve was just as unsure of himself as Tony was, so he played the long game. He helped Tony where he could and made sure that Tony felt welcome. But, an ill-timed explosion during a mission seemed to put a wrench in Steve's plans. With Tony stuck in medical will Steve figure out his own feeling before shit hits the fan?
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Short Marvel Fics and gifts [44]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1173833
Comments: 6
Kudos: 81
Collections: 2020 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange





	What's broken can be mended

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wonderlandgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderlandgirl/gifts).



> Holiday exchange fic for Wonderlandgirl! I hope your day is AWESOME!

Steve Roger’s did not hate Tony Stark. He didn’t, but the man just got on his nerves from the moment he’d met him. He was rich, loud, self-centred, and always got his way. He was nothing like Howard Stark. It was annoying. Sure, Steve had seen Tony go from self-centred to extremely selfless and sacrificial time after time, but that didn’t help his annoyance with the man. 

They had been on a few missions together after the Avengers had moved into the tower and the team was getting increasingly closer. Well, they all were except for Tony. That… well that worried Steve a little. Sure he’s read in Tony’s file that he wasn’t a team player and didn’t work well with others, but all evidence pointed to the contrary. Tony worked great with the team and with others. The man just had no patience for bullshit. And well, Steve couldn’t really blame him. Steve had no patience for it either.

But that didn’t really explain why Tony never really socialized with the rest of the team. Sure he’d come around every so often to make jokes and grab a bite to eat, but he never stuck around for too long. Even Bruce spent more time with the team than Tony did. Bruce made it to every team dinner and team bonding night. Tony seldom appeared. Like, he did show up, but it wasn’t often.

This worried Steve. They were supposed to be a team on and off the field. Sure he knew that Tony was a busy man, but it seemed as if he were intentionally isolating himself from everyone else.

So Steve started doing his own research on the man. He’d come to the conclusion that Natasha’s profile had come from a bias situation and wasn’t fair to the man. And when Steve found out that the profile had been made while Tony was actively dying from heavy metal poisoning, well that just spurred him further into finding the truth.

And so Steve dug. He dug and dug and asked JARVIS all sorts of questions and he quickly learned that Tony was so much more than the media painted him as. He learned that Tony and Howard didn’t get along and from certain pictures and interviews Steve pieced together that Tony didn’t have a very happy childhood. He regretted ever trying to compare Tony to his late father pretty quickly. 

But Steve kept digging and what he saw wasn’t the same man that he’d read about from Fury and Natasha. He saw a man who cared deeply but covered it up. He saw a man who had to grow up too quickly. He saw a man who just wanted to do better. And Steve liked what he saw.

So armed with this new knowledge, Steve began to put in the effort to make Tony feel more comfortable in his own damn home. Steve would go out of his way to talk to Tony when he saw him. He asked about his work and his inventions. And it wasn’t just a plot for anything. Steve was genuinely curious. Technology had advanced so much since he’d gone into the ice and he wanted to learn everything.

Tony generally looked happy to explain things to Steve and Steve listened intently. But after a while, Steve began to focus on other things. Things such as the shape of Tony’s lips. How big and round his eyes were. How Tony blushed just a little bit whenever Steve asked him things. 

And that’s when he realized that he had fallen for Tony Stark.

But while Steve was going on his own personal journey of realization, Tony was trying really hard to tackle his own demons.

Being on a team with Captain America was not really doing anything for Tony’s self-esteem. Tony had spent his entire childhood and adolescence being compared to the great Captain America. Howard Stark didn’t care about Tony. He cared about Steve Rogers. 

Tony had a rough childhood. Howard Stark used to beat him, yell at him, and make him drink which lead to a drinking problem. Howard would always go off about the good captain and Tony learned things. So, Tony grew to both love and fear Steve Rogers because of what Howard Stark had become in his absence. Being threatened with the Captain was enough to make any child fear for their life sometimes. 

Tony’s problems with the Captain probably weren’t helped by the fact that Tony had had a crush on the man since he hit puberty. Let's just say that Captain America awakened something in Tony that Howard Stark hated.

But once Tony met the man he had a whole new set of problems. He could tell the second they’d met that Steve Rogers hated him for not being Howard. He could smell the disappointment and hated off of the man. He must have read Romanov’s profile on him and based his decision off of that before even meeting him.

He’d called Tony worthless. Well, not directly but Tony knew he meant it from his words. They hurt. Tony wanted to be good. He’d been trying so hard. But he knew he could never measure up to Captain America.

So he flew the nuke into the portal and hoped that Steve Rogers would be proud of him for laying down on the wire.

Tony lived of course. He lived and invited the Avengers to stay at the tower. That had been the breaking point in his and Pepper’s relationship.

But once everyone was there, minus Thor who had returned to Asgard, Tony quickly realized that he was the outsider. He was the one to pay for everything. He was the one to do all the work on their weapons and gear without proper thanks. Tony worked alone while everyone else became a team. 

Always a consultant. Never an Avengers. So, Tony tried to keep his distance. Sure Tony would be there for call-outs. He knew he could help. But he wasn’t an Avengers so he knew he had no place at their team bonding things. Sure, he showed up every once in a while, but he never lingered. He didn’t want to see everyone being a happy team together while all Tony ever got from others were little scraps of happiness.

People didn’t want to be around the real Tony Stark. All he was good for was money and tech. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

What Tony didn’t understand was why Steve Rogers kept hanging around him. It had been months since the Avengers had settled into life at the tower and they’d gone on a few missions together but that didn’t explain why Rogers would come down to his lab armed with snacks and ask him all sorts of questions about his tech.

Most of the time Tony had to fight down a blush when the good Captain talked to him when they were alone in the lab. Tony was really confused about the situation. Steve hated him! Why was he so determined to spend time with Tony in the lab? Did he want something? Why didn’t he just ask Tony for whatever he wanted and be done with it? Normally Tony would have confronted Steve about this, but he was just so sick and tired of being alone in his lab that he welcomed the contact.

Tony and Steve sort of existed in their own little nebulous world when they were in the lab together. It felt right when they were together. But, where Steve felt that things were going great and could possibly move forward, Tony was thinking of the fact that this could never last. Sure, he put on a mask of bravado, Tony inside Tony was hurting and already preparing for Steve to leave him once he got what he wanted. 

The day everything changed started out just like any other day at the tower. The Avengers all ate breakfast and went about their daily business. Tony wandered into the kitchen around 11 am in search of coffee and food after the all-nighter he’d pulled to fix up Natasha’s widow bites. He was exhausted and more than ready to bite into the mac and cheese he’d made when the call to assemble went off. Food be damned, it was time to join in the fight.

Fury was quick to bring the team up to speed as they flew out to Washington where a terrorist cell had planted bombs all over the national bank and had 100 people held hostage.

It should have been a routine call out for the team. They should have been able to hack into the building's system, take down the terrorists and save the hostages while Tony disabled the bombs. It should have been easy.

Everything went smoothly that day until one of the bombs went off even after tony had disabled it. Thank fuck no hostages were near.

“Iron Man? Iron Man come in.” shouted Steve over the coms. All he got was static.

“Does anyone know Stark’s last location?” asked Steve, his voice rising with worry. He didn’t like the situation Tony had been in. He’d left his suit off to the side because the bombs were too small and unstable for him to disable while wearing the suit.

“He was in the top right wing of the building.” Shouted Bruce from his spot on the jet. He was already getting medical supplies ready to take with him over to where Tony was.

Steve didn’t even wait for the others before he ran off to where Tony was. The hostages were already getting medical attention and the terrorists were in custody so Steve didn’t have to worry as he raced to go find Tony. He knew that Tony was string and he’d most likely be alive, but he really hoped that he wasn’t hurt.

“Tony!” shouted Steve as he made his way through the building.

As Steve got closer to Tony’s location he could clearly see the trail of destruction left by the bomb. They were so lucky that they were poorly made and didn’t have much firepower. Steve picked up his pace once he saw a few pieces of the Iron Man armour strewn about. Tony must have used the armour to protect himself when the bomb went off. So Steve picked up his pace and shouted once he saw Tony laying in the middle of the floor in an office space. There were broken tables and chairs everywhere. But that wasn’t what caught Steve’s eye. 

Tony was laying on the ground covered in very obvious cuts and scrapes from the bomb. But that was what was concerning. What was concerning was the very obvious break to Tony’s left femur.

“Tony!” shouted Steve as he ran to his side and called for aid over the coms.

“Fucking hell!” shouted Tony as Steve’s movement jostled his body a little.

“Sorry. Sorry.” Worried Steve and Tony just squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

“Fuck…” swore Tony and Steve didn’t know what to do. No amount of first aid and military training had prepared him for seeing his crush laying on the floor with a broken femur after an explosion.

Luckily, the others arrived soon after and were also fussing over Tony. Bruce was quick to check Tony over and assess the situation while Clint and Natasha cleaned up the broken fragments of suit that lay strewn about. They didn’t need the Iron Man armour getting into the wrong hands. Steve started at Tony’s side and helped where he could.

“Alright Tony, you’ve absolutely got a broke femur here. We need to splint you up and get you back to the tower for medical treatment. This could get really bad the longer we wait.” Spoke Bruce and Steve saw Tony’s face blanch a bit. 

“Just get it over with.”

And that’s when the very creative swearing started.

“Stark, you’re being a baby.” Teased Natasha in an attempt to lighten the moon. But Tony was having none of that. 

“Is this OUR broken femur? No! It’s mine and I’ll be a fucking baby about it if I want.” Panted out Tony as Bruce went about splinting his leg. Tony was in so much pain that he didn’t even register that he had Steve’s hand in a vice grip.

But not long after, Steve noticed that Tony’s face was paling fast and his grip was weakening.

“Tony? Hey… Tony.” Worried Steve and everyone else around him did the same.

“I think… I think I need a nap.” Rasped Tony as his breathing became a bit shallow.

“No! Tony! Stay awake!” worried Steve as he fought to keep Tony’s attention. “Tell me something. Anything. What are you working on right now?”

“I’m… I’m working on making Bruce new stretchy… stretchy pants…” huffed Tony as he started to go into shock.

“Alright, tell me about that. Just keep talking.” Encouraged Steve.

And so Tony talked. It was stilted and some of the words slurred together, but he was awake and talking and that would have to do. Steve continued to hold Tony’s hand and encourage him. This was not how Steve envisioned holding Tony’s hand for the first time. He couldn’t even enjoy this.

Tony screamed and nearly passed out when the team helped move him onto a stretcher so that they could carry him to the jet and back to the tower. Clint went off ahead with half of the armour pieces to go bring the jet closer while Natasha took the other pieces with her. It was down to Steve and Bruce to carry Tony back to the jet and they had to move fast. Tony was in shock and honestly not doing great. The sooner they got him to medical the better.

The jet sped off back to the tower the second Bruce had Tony securely started down to the tiny medical bed they had there. He was still loosely holding Steve’s hands and was beginning to nod off. Tony’s voice was slurred and It was a battle to keep him awake. 

Tony passed out not long before they landed back at the tower and Steve began to panic.

The second they landed medical personnel were there to cart Tony off to go get x-rayed and into surgery as soon as possible. Steve wanted to go with Tony, but he wasn’t allowed. All he could do was shed his uniform, shower, eat something, and wait in the plush chairs that Tony had put outside of Avengers Medical.

Steve was a wreck as he and the others waited for Tony to get out of surgery. None of them knew how bad the injury was nor if Tony was alright. Steve was having an especially hard time. He felt so helpless. All he could do was sit there and wait while the man he’d fallen for under-went surgery. He felt helpless and angry and he couldn’t do anything. All Steve could do was wait and hope that Tony was alright.

When the doctor came out and told them that Tony was alive and would heal, Steve just about lost his cool and started crying. Luckily, he held it together to hear the information the doctor was giving them. Tony’s femur had a clean break but needed to be pined and held together for the next two months. He’d be in medical for another week at least to allow things to settle. After that Tony would be confined to a wheelchair for a while to keep the pressure off of the bone.

Steve just knew that all they laying around was going to piss Tony off. That man was always on the move.

Because Tony was only just beginning to wake up and was drugged to the gills, he was only allowed one visitor at the moment. Steve was pretty happy when the team decided that he should go check in on Tony. He was worried sick and he had a feeling seeing that Tony was alive would help. So, Steve allowed himself to be lead back to Tony’s room where he saw the genus laying in the bed.

Tony seemed pretty out of it when Steve entered the room. He was hooked up to a few machines that Steve didn’t know the purpose of and the bed seemed to make the man look even smaller than he was. His leg was carefully padded with gauze and bandages but Steve could see the small parts of the metal frame sticking out. But still, Tony was alive and Steve was grateful.

“Hey there Tony. You took quite the tumble back there.” Spoke Steve as he sat down next to Tony’s bed.

“I’m fiiiine. I’m totally fine.” Slurred out Tony 

“I’m guessing they gave you the good drugs?” smiled Steve and Tony gave him a dopy smile back.

“Aaaaaaallll of the good drugs.” 

Steve and Tony sat there in silence for a little bit. Neither really minded. The silence was oddly comforting after the eventful day they’d both had. Although, the silence became stifling after a while and the incessant beeping of one of the machines began to grate on Steve’s nerve so he began talking again. 

"Why did you do that Tony? Why? You should've been more careful.” Asked Steve. It wasn’t meant to be a reprimand but in Steve’s tired and stressed-out state his words sounded harsher than he meant.

What Tony said next though shook Steve to his core.

“I know you hate me but can you give me a little slack here! If it weren't for me, those civilians would be dead!” murmured Tony and Steve felt his heart sink.

“Tony. No… No. I don’t hate you.” Worried Steve.

“Yes, you do. You hate me. Howard said you would. You keep yellin’ at me. Keep bringing me things cuz you wan’ something. M’ no good. No good.” Slurred out Tony as the drugs in his system pulled him back to sleep.

Steve sat there in shock over Tony’s words. Hate him?! Steve didn’t hate Tony. Sure they’d had a rocky start but Steve didn’t hate him. He loved him. He loved him and yet Tony was convinced that he hated him.

Steve was at a loss on what to do. He felt horrible. How the fuck had he managed to come off as hating Tony when it was just the opposite. And the fact that Tony thought that he was only being nice because he thought that Steve wanted something from him! It broke his heart.

Steve left Tony there to sleep off his injury for a little bit. He deserved some rest. In the meantime, Steve had to sort out his own emotions so that he could figure out a way to best show Tony that he cared. 

Steve didn’t return to medical until the next day. He was too caught on what Tony had said. What the hell had he done to make Tony think that he still hated him. And well, Steve had never really hated Tony. He was just going through a lot and he didn’t take out his frustrations in the most healthy way. That was on Steve, not Tony.

Steve didn’t sleep that night. He was s stressed about trying to make things better. He wanted Tony to trust him. He wanted Tony to know that he liked him. He wanted to ask the man out for fucks sake. But Steve, well, he didn’t know what to do. Tony was convinced that Steve hated him. He’d resigned to that fact and in a moment of vulnerability, he’d let his insecurities peak through for just a second. Who’s to know what else Tony was feeling.

When morning came, Steve still didn’t know how to address everything, or even with he should. Well, Steve knew that he should. He didn’t want Tony to continue thinking that he was hated by someone who actually loved him. So, Steve put on his big boy pants and went to go see Tony once more in medical once he’d eaten something.

All too soon Steve found himself staring down the all too bright and clear corridor leading to Tony’s room in Avengers Medical. He didn’t know what he was going to say but he knew he had to do something. So, Steve walked over to Tony’s room, knocked on the door, and entered.

Tony was awake when Steve entered. He looked more lucid than he had the day before but that had its downsides. Tony looked like he was in more pain now that he wasn’t on all the crazy pain meds but he was hiding it well. The two caught each other’s gaze and Steve took that as his cue to walk into the room.

“You’re looking a lot better this morning.” Smiled Steve in an attempt to defuse the tension in the room.

“Yup. Everything’s hunky-dory. Now, when can I get out of here?” asked Tony as he tried to move and only succeeded in barely suppressing a wince that Steve absolutely saw.

“Tony…” began Steve as he moved to take the seat at Tony’s bedside. “I don’t think you leaving medical is a good idea right now. You got hurt pretty bad. Plus you’ve got all those screws in your thigh and I know you, the second you’re let out of here you’ll hide in your lab for a week.” Worried Steve as he looked Tony over.

“Well, I can’t stay here. I’ve got work to do. No doubt the suit is blown to shreds and all of your guys’ gear needs work. Plus I’ve got that huge project I have to get done for Pepper. Fuck, she’s going to kill me once she gets here. No doubt she’ll yell.” Rambled Tony and Steve just sat there in worry. He already knew that Tony was overworked, but his planning to push aside his own health because of all the work he had to do was going too far.

“You’re staying here in medical Tony. I’m not going to let you hide in that lab of yours and inevitably hurt yourself. Pepper will understand if you can’t build things right now. And as for us, we can wait. You’ve made sure that we have enough gear.” Spoke Steve as he tried to coax Tony into understanding that he could take a break to heal.

“Whatever.” Huffed Tony, “Why are you even here?”

“I’m here because I’m your teammate and I care about you.” Spoke Steve very steadily. Tony just glared back at him.

“Yeah right. You hate me. Now, what do you want?”

And there it was again but this time said while Tony wasn’t drugged up as much. It hurt to hear that. Steve still didn’t know where he went wrong with Tony. He’d been trying to make it up to Tony for his comments and actions early in after they’d met but apparently none of that had done anything.

Maybe now was the time for some serious action.

“I don’t have you, Tony. I don’t. I’ve never hated you.” Stated Steve as he tried to look Tony in the eye, but Tony’s own eyes stayed trained to his hands.

“Yeah right. I never knew that you were capable of lying Captain. Now. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get out of here and back to work.” Grimaced Tony as he started to tear off some of the lines and other medical things attached to his body. Not only that but Toby sat up quite quickly and Steve could very clearly tell that that was a bad idea by the pain the flicked across Tony’s face.

“Stop this Tony. Stop. You’re going to get yourself hurt worse than you already are!” worried Steve as he stood up to keep Tony from leaving his bed.

“Why the fuck do you even care?!” shouted Tony as he winced a bit in pain.

“Because I love you, you dumbass!!” Steve blurted out without meaning to.

“Oh.”

You could have heard a pin drop in that room if it weren’t for the various beeping noises coming from the machines that surrounded Tony’s bed. Both Steve and Tony sat there in shock over Steve’s words. Steve, because he hadn’t expected himself to just blurt that out. Tony because he had been so certain that Steve hated him and that his crush on the soldier would never be reciprocated.

“You… you what?” asked Tony as he stared down at his hands. He couldn’t bring up the courage to look at Steve.

Luckily, Steve found his own bravery and repeated what he said.

“I love you. I’ve loved you for months. Tony… I love you.”

For once Tony didn’t have any words for the situation. No quips. No sass. Nothing. But, despite all of Tony’s deepest insecurities, he knew that the captain wasn’t one to lie often. Not about serious things. But Tony still didn’t have any words for the situation. Sure, Tony was used to people declaring their undying love for him, but this was different. This wouldn’t be another one night stand to fill the void in his heart. If Tony said anything this would be for the long haul. 

So, Tony decided to let his actions speak louder than his words. He reached out and took Steve’s hand in his and just held it. He was still nervous and completely unsure of himself, but Tony wasn’t fool enough to pass up the opportunity to hold Steve’s hand.

It was Steve who moved in closer and gave Tony’s knuckles a kiss like the 1940s gentleman he was. Tony blushed like a maniac and that made Steve smile. Maybe, just maybe, they’d be alright.

A week later, when Tony was finally released from medical, Tony and Steve sat down on Tony’s bed and had a long talk about what was going on and how they should move forward. They decided to take it slow, but that was mostly for Tony’s benefit because he was going to be laid up for a while yet. Their dates consisted of Steve making various snacks and the two lounging around watching various movies in an attempt to continue to get Steve acclimated to the future. Things were great.

And a month into their newfound relationship, Tony found his voice again and spoke up.

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot. I’m really happy with it. I hope everyone has a happy holiday season and if you’re in a place that has snow, I hope y’all are staying warm. I know I am.


End file.
